Hungary-Azerbaijan to be held behind closed doors

UEFA's disciplinary body has punished the Hungarian Football Federation (MLSZ) for its fans' racist and exclusionist chants at the Hungary-Slovakia European Championship qualifying fixture on 8th September. Although MLSZ, the players and their head coach Marco Rossi all asked spectators in advance of the match for a respectful, sporting atmosphere, the subsequent inspectors' reports documented that there were repeated instances of chants against the Roma community and the country of Slovakia amongst others. The decision was then reached due to these being another repeat of disciplinary misconduct inside the national team's stadium over the past five years.

In light of the disciplinary decision, MLSZ has decided to invite under-14 football academy students and football-loving youngsters to the Hungary-Azerbaijan match in order to create some kind of an atmosphere at this Euro qualifier. Meanwhile, the federation is appealing to UEFA about the decision while simultaneously asking security professionals to identify those spectators guilty of instigating the scenes a fortnight ago.

Season-ticket holders will be refunded a proportion of the cost of their ticket based on how many matches they purchased entry for. Those who purchased their tickets online will have this amount transferred back to the same credit card used at the time of purchase, while those who bought their passes in person at the box office should return there to receive the pro rata amount due.